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What does a Muslim woman think about headscarves on the catwalk
Following the uproar of Nike producing headscarves as part of their new sports range aimed at Muslim women, the fashion industry has struck again, splitting opinions on the use of hijabs on the catwalk.
Although it seems that the actual aim of models wearing headscarves within the fashion industry is to try and represent a wider range of people from more diverse backgrounds, many Muslims are upset with the trend.
To learn more, we spoke to an anonymous woman to understand more about the situation:
“In Islam, we follow the instructions for life from the Quran (the Holy Book). Specific commands are given in the Quran such as not consuming pork or alcohol, and Allah also tells MEN and women to be modest in their dress."
"This modesty for men and women is to wear loose clothing so you can't see the shape of the body. There are other conditions too but obviously one of them is for women to cover their hair because that is a big factor in their beauty."
"In a time when women are bombarded with images and have so much pressure to look a certain way, from social media, mainstream media, socially and culturally, most women do not fulfil the actual requirements for wearing hijab properly."
She goes on to say, "The hijab is supposed to elevate women, for them not to be looked at as just a sexual beings but for her to be appreciated for her intellect before her beauty. It is not supposed to be used for oppression either, the woman must freely choose to cover herself without force or coercion. In all reality if people really knew Islam and how much of a high-status women have in it, there wouldn't be as many problems as we have today."
"As with most religions, people have interpreted things to suit their own needs and desires."
"The problem we have now is that Muslim women, in general, have a lot of spending power. Which multi-million-pound companies have cottoned on to, designer brands have previously released modest dresses and headscarves in their ranges. The hijab was never meant to be a thing which was about making money! Yes, of course, women love clothes and will always spend money on them but the flaunting of it as such was not meant to be."
"So when women wearing headscarves in flashy, designer, expensive clothes are strolling down the catwalk, it kind of defeats how a Muslim woman should be and how the world should perceive her. The way a Muslim woman should dress is commanded by God, it is an integral part of her way of life and there is sanctity in that."
"I just wish rich fat cats wouldn't make money off things that are holy to people, (not just in Islam) just because they feel like there is an emerging market to exploit."
Simply put, the fashion industry using hijabs is comparable to bringing a vegan a milk chocolate-filled cake over for their birthday. They had the best intentions but ultimately, without doing any research, it’s just not really a cool thing to do!
